Kathie Olivas’ “Bittersweet” at Gallery 1988/SF

by Suzanne on February 29th, 2008

Crow and Stowaway by Kathie Olivas

Kathie Olivas - the woman best known for adding tentacles to almost anything - will present new paintings, sculptures and custom vinyl toys at Gallery 1988 in San Francisco from tonight till March 22.

Opening reception: Tonight, February 29, 2008, 7-10 PM

View exhibited works

ALEX CF NEWS CORNER

© Alex CF

Alex’s Merrylin Cryptid no.25 is now listed for sale on eBay!

INTERNA

For those who haven’t seen the update in the previous blog post:

The Wurzelforum (of Doom. And Tentacles) is back!

Eeeeep?!

by Suzanne on February 27th, 2008

Spyplanes & Nightingales by Me

Did I just fix the problem?

I removed two lines of code from the footer template that I considered superfluous and I think it loads properly again! o_O Does it work for you guys too? I know that a lot of readers don’t ever feel the need to comment on this blog, which is fair enough, but a quick “yes” or “no” would be very helpful for me.

And could the problem with my forum maybe be a similar flaw in the code? After all, it also stops loading when it comes to the footer section. I updated the forum software to the latest stable phpBB2 release, but that obviously didn’t solve the problem. More about the issue here. All phpBB related help is still most welcome.

And once again, I did it myself. The new forum can be found here – it runs on SMF (RSS! Weeee!) and the previous phpBB posts and accounts have been integrated. So you can sign in with your old account.

Oh, and we have Edward Gorey inspired ranks now: Doubtful Guest, Hapless Child, Abandoned Sock, Curious Sofa, Gilded Bat and Glorious Nosebleed. Hehe.

Can I go to bed now? Pleeease? It’s 6 AM…

EDIT: Endless thanks to LoTekk for fixing the last forum glitches!

Oh, and that’s my new hair, mum.

Help with WP2 Upgrade

by Suzanne on February 26th, 2008

Good Night Darthy by Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère and Nicolas Laverdière

You might have noticed that this blog loads more slowly than ever before.

My provider couldn’t find any reason for this, so I must assume that maybe a software upgrade to the latest stable version of WordPress 2.x (I’m currently running on 1.5.1.3) could improve the loading speed.

Now.. I’m not stupid and I’ve upgraded WP software before, but I’ve been told that WP1 to WP2 can be rather tricky, above all if – like me – you have converted Blogger® posts in your blog archives.

So if there’s anyone out there who still cares about this blog and has experience in/feels confident with secure WP upgrades (while staying more or less faithful to the current template), just send me an email and I’d be more than happy to give you my phpMyAdmin details so that you can have a look at what’s going on.

Also, I’m currently trying to upgrade my phpBB forum as it’s affected by the same slowness and a few (mainly template related) questions popped up that I need help with too.

Sadly, I don’t have the means to pay you much, but I have plenty of art prints, old books and clothes that I would gladly give away in return.

Thank you very much for your help in advance.

The future of this blog depends on this.

Exactitudes® at Selfridges London

by Suzanne on February 25th, 2008

Mohawks by Ari Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek for Exactitudes®, Rotterdam 1998

For the past 13 years, Dutch documentary photographer Ari Versluis and stylist Ellie Uyttenbroek have worked together to create a visual anthropological encyclopedia of homines sapientes sapientes and their colourful and manifold ways to express their identity aesthetically. They managed to capture the essence of what makes us unique and teach us how relative uniqueness can be in the same breath. Their Exactitudes® project is a homage to both subcultures and the mainstream, social group behaviour and individuality, heterogeneity and uniformity, dress codes and (attempted) rebellion against them.

In a collaboration with The Photographers’ Gallery, Versluis & Uyttenbroek will be presenting Exactitudes at Selfridges Oxford Street in London starting Tuesday, February 26, 2008. Photographer Ari Versluis and his team will use the opportunity of their London show to document subcultural street styles in the surrounding areas of Oxford Street - it’s been a while since I’ve seen any sign of “subculture” in that part of town, but then again, my optic nerves are highly damaged..

Dreads by Ari Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek for Exactitudes®, Rotterdam 1998

On show: February 26 – April 20, 2008

Order Exactitudes® book

A is for Araki. H is for Hokusai. W is for Weeeee! NSFW Blog Content!

by Suzanne on February 22nd, 2008

© Nobuyoshi Araki

Nobuyoshi Araki - one of my favourite reliable providers of NSFW web content - is the main attraction of a Japanese-themed show that opened today at Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover/DE and will be on view until May 12, 2008.

In the exhibition entitled Araki meets Hokusai – The Art of Japan, the public will get to see some of the most recent photographs from Araki’s Bondage series alongside classical Japanese woodcuts.

Sounds a bit random to me, but I guess the concept could nevertheless prove interesting if the juxtapositions are carefully chosen.

On show: February 22 – May 12, 2008

Review: Portal Kunstgeschichte

Sylvia Ji Solo at Corey Helford

by Suzanne on February 22nd, 2008

Untitled and Nightshade by Sylvia Ji

Sylvia Ji’s first L.A. solo show entitled Por Vida opens tomorrow, February 23, 2008, 7 – 10 PM at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City.

On show: February 23 – March 15, 2008

“Peat, Salt & Moondust – Panoramic Fictions” by Kahn & Selesnick in Brussels

by Suzanne on February 21st, 2008

4 works from the Apollo Prophecies series by Kahn & Selesnick, 2004

Wurzeltod™ favourites Richard Selesnick & Nicholas Kahn invite you to see their narrative multidimensional works at the Peat, Salt & Moondust show due to open at Aeroplastics Contemporary in Brussels/BE.

From the Aeroplastics’ exhibition text:

The Englishmen Kahn and Selesnick – both born in 1964 – have been collaborating since 1988: First creating installations combining painted portraits on plaster panels and bread, honey, and wax sculptures displayed in wooden ritual architecture.

Tired of working locked up in a studio, they returned to photography on location, experimenting with 360-degree panoramic photographs set in the English countryside, and eventually integrating costumes and sets in vast productions rife with curious anachronisms.

Opening preview: Tonight, February 21, 2008

Opening hours: Wed-Sat 2-6 PM (or by appointment)

“Gothic” Group Show at Fieldgate Gallery in London

by Suzanne on February 21st, 2008

© Tessa Farmer

Richard Ducker has brought together an inspiring set of a dozen artists for a themed group show at Fieldgate Gallery in London.

Tessa Farmer - previously featured here and here - is amongst them and will present her works from February 23, 2008 through March 16, 2008.

View exhibited works

Open: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 1 – 6 PM

Max Ernst Retrospective at Albertina in Vienna

by Suzanne on February 20th, 2008

Two scenes from Une semaine de bonté by Max Ernst, 1933

Max Ernst – anachronistic collagist genius who inspired talented modern artists like Colette Calascione or Claudia Drake – is the focus of a retrospective that opened today in Vienna - city of my eeriest dreams and sweetest nightmares. Oh, how I miss thee!

Until April 27, 2008, the venerable Albertina - in close cooperation with the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl/DE – will show the original illustrations of Max Ernst’s wondrous book Une semaine de bonté.

This is the first time in almost 75 years that these hauntingly beautiful works are presented to the public.

ART Magazine feature

Get Ernst’s Une Semaine De Bonté: A Surrealistic Novel in Collage published by Dover. It’s a classic. I swear you won’t regret it.

4 Random Things That I Find Strangely Hot Today

Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick

i) Daniel Day-Lewis’ legs/leather boots in There Will Be Blood.

ii) Gregory Peck’s scar and bleached hair in Moby Dick. In fact, I don’t think any male actor has ever looked hotter than Peck in the role of Ahab.

iii) Chester Bennington‘s front teeth. But that’s really it.

iv) Robert Smith’s voice in Lovesong.

Cai Guo-Qiang’s “I Want to Believe” at Guggenheim NY

by Suzanne on February 20th, 2008

Head On by Cai Guo-Qiang, 2006 – part of the monumental I Want to Believe installation due to open at Guggenheim NY

It puzzles me greatly how a living artist knows when the time for his “mid-career retrospective” (quote caiguoqiang.com) has come, even more so when the artist in question – the great Cai Guo-Qiang – won’t ever need an excuse for a retrospective or a catchy headline to captivate the crowds.

I assume that an entourage of doctors and clairvoyants carrying esoteric machines lined up and layed out cryptic Sumerian diagrams before him and somehow determined the half life of his artistic career. Hmmm.

At any rate, Guo-Qiang’s “mid-career” undoubtedly offers a great opportunity for NY people to see his magnificent I Want to Believe installation at the Guggenheim.

The exhibition opens this Friday, February 22, 2008 and runs until May 28, 2008.

Quicktime video & photo gallery of the installation process

Catalogue